The Rec Room's Avengers: Damage Control VR experience is a blast

I was rather excited going into Avengers: Impairment Control.

A new full-body VR experience prepare in the Curiosity Cinematic Universe from the talented folks at Lucasfilm's ILMxLAB, the immersive entertainment division behind other VR gems like Ralph Breaks VRandStar Wars: Secrets of the Empire? Colour me intrigued.

Thankfully, Damage Controlexceeded my expectations and proved itself to be a great VR romp for both casual and hardcore Marvel fans.

Available at The Void VR centres at select Rec Rooms in Canada, Damage Controllets you and upwardly to three friends jump into the MCU in a superhero thrill ride set after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

InDamage Control, you play as a Wakandan Outreach Center recruit tasked with trying out Emergency Response Suits — Iron Homo-like armour that blend Tony Stark's signature tech with Shuri's own vibranium designs.

It'due south a really crawly and logical crossover that we never even got to see in the movies themselves. What'southward more, Letitia Wright reprises her function equally the ever-lovable Wakandan scientist equally she walks teaches you how to apply your high-tech suit in a particularly memorable introductory scene.

Avengers: Damage Control suits

Because this is a Void VR joint, this means that you'll be able to walk effectually in the real world and look effectually 360-degrees. All the while, you can see your friends' armoured avatars move around and hear them through your VR headset, which adds to the social attribute of the feel.

Your time in Wakanda is short-lived, even so. Once you discover a new threat from Ultron (yep, the same robot villain idea to be defeated in 2015'south Historic period of Ultron) and his robot army, you lot'll take to travel to other MCU locations to salvage the day.

I don't desire to requite away too much, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that 1 of your stops includes Medico Strange'south Sanctum Sanctorum. Getting blasted by air while walking through a portal to enter the mysterious mansion, slowly walk down a winding staircase and come confront to face up with the eccentric sorcerer himself (one time once again played Bridegroom Cumberbatch) was surreal and gave me goosebumps.

Avengers: Damage Control Dr. Strange

Of course, there's more than to being a superhero than globetrotting. When it comes to fighting bad guys, you lot'll exist using Iron Man's signature repulsor blasts. In exercise, this means aiming your physical hand at the virtual enemy, with the game automatically firing off a shot after a brief moment.

It would have been nice if The Void's VR rigincorporated some sort of a wrist apparatus to let y'all get haptic feedback in your palms. Nonetheless, the motion-tracking applied science is quite responsive and intuitive, making me feel like I was picking off bots with Iron Man-like precision. You'll also be able to shoot a volley of homing rockets every bit function of a charged super motility. In the heat of the activity, it really felt like my friends and I were living out that climactic battle from Atomic number 26 Man 2 where Atomic number 26 Man and Military team up to fight the drones.

Periodically, you'll besides have various MCU heroes making some pleasant surprise appearances. I smiled hearing Paul Rudd and Canada'southward own Evangeline Lilly lend their voices to some of Emmet-Man and The Wasp'south ever-charming banter.

On the other hand, whoever voiced Spider-Human and Military machine absolutely didn't sound like Tom Kingdom of the netherlands or Don Cheadle. Besides, some other hero cameos I won't spoil were clearly not voiced past their original actors, either. When the experience is all well-nigh existence authentic to the MCU, these replacement voices stand up out like a sore thumb and actually break immersion.

Avengers: Damage Control Ant-Man and The Wasp

On the other hand,Damage Commandmakes clever use of some classic MCU music from the likes of Iron Homo 3, Ant-ManandInfinity War. I won't spoil information technology, but there's one moment featuring Alan Silvestri's brilliant Avengers theme that gave me chills.

It's important to note that just like its fellow Void VR experiences, Impairment Controlis quite brusk, with the entire experience (including setup fourth dimension) clocking in at around half an hour. As such, its rather steep $34.95 CAD/per person price tag might be tough to swallow.

That said, I tin can't recommend Damage Controlenough. Overall, the experience makes excellent use of the MCU to deliver an unforgettable time for both you and your friends. By the stop of it, you'll really feel like one of The Avengers in the MCU, and that's more than than worth the price of access.

Avengers: Damage Control is available at The Rec Room in Toronto, Mississauga and Edmonton for a limited fourth dimension.